


The Quarantine Mystery

by heroiccaptain



Category: Kingsman (Movies)
Genre: Comedy, Domestic Fluff, Established Harry Hart | Galahad/Merlin (Kingsman), Fluff, Kingsman: The Golden Circle Fix-it, M/M, Married Couple, Merlin (Kingsman) Lives, Old Married Couple, One Shot, Pandemics, Post-Kingsman: The Golden Circle, Secretly Married
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:07:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24014101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heroiccaptain/pseuds/heroiccaptain
Summary: Eggsy would loose his mind if he found out that Harry and Merlin were quarantining together during this pandemic.But that was only a guess, based solely on what he had seen during an online video chat, nothing much.They couldn't be secretly married, could they?
Relationships: Harry Hart | Galahad/Merlin
Comments: 18
Kudos: 63





	The Quarantine Mystery

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, Kingsman fandom!  
> This is my first work in this fandom and I'm really excited to share with you all.
> 
> So, a bit of this fic's history: I'm having online classes and as I was extremely bored in the middle of one, I couldn't help but think of how cool it would be to discover that two of my professors actually lived together. Unfortunately none of them were, but still the idea seemed funny in my mind.  
> Of course, I thought of merlahad with this concept and knew I had to write this. I apologize for any english mistake, I'm not a native speaker. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy it!

8:04am - _I can't get in, Roxy!_

8:05am - _Did you put the password, Eggsy?_

8:07am - _What password?_

\- _Oh found it_

Merlin had developed an online system for the organisation after the pandemic had obliged all agents to stay at home. They had to continue their annual classes, which included learning about new gadgets with Merlin and analysing former missions strategies with Harry.

Sure, the special glasses were the most viable option for the matter, if they hadn't been all recollected to receive a new design weeks before the pandemic and were now in Merlin's HQ laboratory, far from everyone's reach.

The video chat app was unsurprisingly efficient and of course, much better than Zoom.

— Morning, agents. Good to see ye. Ready for your first class?

Merlin talked excitedly about the new gadgets he had been working on, showing the 3D sketches and simulations, but at some point Eggsy just couldn't concentrate at what he was saying.

As his focus shifted from his Instagram feed to JB snoring next to him, he sighted, staring back again at his notebook.

Merlin was drinking what seemed to be a steamy coffee from a brown mug, which interestingly matched the brown leather of the chair he was sitting on.

Eggsy was bored so he started to study the place.

The wizard was in what appeared to be his house’s library, quite a beautiful and organized one, with large wooden shelves full of books and one or two Scottish symbols, next to English ones, on the top shelf.

On the lower shelf in the left corner of his screen he spotted a collection of books with a vintage red cover, some disorganized books in the other side of it, nothing much in the middle and on the right corner, there were-

His face froze. Was that what really seemed to be?

On the right corner of the library shelf there were some papers, some kind of drawings of...

Eggsy leaned his head closer to the screen.

_Butterflies._

Why would Merlin have drawings of butterflies in his library? Unless...

No. It couldn't be. Harry and Merlin were, of course, the perfect match Eggsy could ever think of.

Their bickering, their dedication to the agency, their story of surviving the worst, side by side through it all.

Eggsy would loose his mind if he found out during a bloody pandemic that his mentors were together. But they couldn't be, could they? Maybe Harry gave him those drawings, maybe Merlin just kept them after the incident and never returned. But what if...?

The lingering question kept him up until 2am, as he stared at the ceiling, unsure of what to do in isolation.

[...]

— Good evening, agents. Hope you're well. Shall we begin? — Harry said in his usual tone.

He had chosen one of the most excellent Kingsman missions to analyse, one that took place in Budapest, circa 1974.

These annual sessions were important to Kingsman agents know more about their origins and the brilliant people that preceded them all. Harry was proud of being the one that could share the organisation's history.

Eggsy was interested in the Budapest mission, but that was something bothering him during the online meeting. What was it?

He took a look at Harry, the chair he was sitting, his eye patch, the files he was holding.

10 seconds. Then, it clicked.

He had seen that brown leather chair before. Those wooden shelves behind him.

The butterfly drawings on the right corner, the collection of books with a red cover on the left.

It was the same library Merlin was in during his class, last week.

Merlin and Harry were quarantining at the same place.

_The same f*cking place._

9:15am - _Roxie, have you noticed the library behind Harry?_

\- _What about it?_

\- _Is a bit similar to Merlin's library, innit?_

9:16am - _Maybe it's a Kingsman aesthetic_

\- _You mean you have a library exactly like that?_

9:18am - _An old-fashioned Kingsman aesthetic*_

\- _What if they are in the same place? Living together? You see where I'm going?_

\- _Yeah, to delusional city_

\- _Roxy!_

9:21am - _Eggsy, Kingsmen can't have romantic relationships. Merlin himself taught us that._

\- _After all we've been through, do you really believe those two would follow the book? Rule by rule?_

9:23am - _Honestly, mate. I think you're using this as a distraction for all that's going on. A mission of your own. And I get it. But you need to calm down. Have some wine, go watch a movie, exercise_

\- _I know, you're right. I'm just not used to stay home without Til_

\- _Only you & JB there?_

9:30am - _Yeah, she's w/ her family. What are you doing to cope?_

\- _I'm painting_

\- _Didn't know you painted, mate_

9:31am - _There's a lot of things you don't know, Eggsy._

He took a long breath. Roxy was right, obviously. He needed to calm down, have some wine, distract himself a bit, turn off the TV.

_But why were Harry and Merlin quarantining together??? Why???_

The idea of them together was too great to not to think of.

Eggsy used to watch them talking at work, wonder if they could ever get together, which he always thought it was fitting, but never brought it up.

The excitement of possibly finding out they were husbands, that they had been living together all this time. With their dogs. Doing the casual stuff other couples did.

Oh, it was just too good.

Merlin and Harry. It not only made perfectly sense, it was a phenomenal love story.

But what was the story, exactly? Were they dating since their 20s or declared their feelings only after Merlin survived in Cambodia? Were they pining for each other without knowing or were they married for years now?

Too many questions, not a single answer.

Eggsy wanted to know. He _needed_ to know.

He was probably being too romantic and a bit obsessed with the whole thing. Not that he cared, anyway. Finding out the truth was important to him, even if he wasn't sure of what he would do after the mystery disappeared and he had nothing else to think about, once again.

But it seemed like the knowledge of the matter was exactly the hopeful little fact he needed to discover so he would feel at peace in this chaotic moment.

— It's all too suspicious, innit, JB? — his look altered from confused to a confident one — We need to find out more.

And so he began to write down his theory, determinated to unravel the mystery of the quarantine, a mission of his own. Investigating the private lives of the two men he most admired in the world was by far the best hobby he had considered since the lockdown started.

[...]

— Harry, why is yer notebook in our library?

— I went there for this week’s class, just to leave my office for a while. Why, darling?

Merlin sat at the bed beside Harry, his concerned face was his answer.

— Oh no. You don't mean...we both chose the same place to the online meeting?

— Aye — he sighted.

— It was my fault, I forgot to check with you — Harry looked down.

— Nae, it was mine too. Look at us. Do ye recall the early days? We used to check every little detail, even our smell in each other's clothes. All to make sure no one would find out about us.

— We had to, didn't we? Your cologne always had a way of leaving its fragrance, as much as your kisses on my neck and its marks — he pointed out, playful.

Merlin smirked, as Harry pulled him to give a kiss.

Memories of their first years of dating like flashes in their minds.

— Do you think someone actually noticed?

— No one commented, maybe it went unnoticed. Are ye worried?

— I'm surprised to say I'm not. Not as much as I'd expect to be in such situation, anyway. HQ finds out we're married and then what? Makes us outcasts, for disobeying a foolish rule? A rule that only exists, in the first place, as a consequence of two male agents eloping in the 60s? — Harry shook his head, nonchalant, his expression now changing to an upset one — Still, I don't know. Arthur could use that to force us into retirement. There's a voice inside my head that sounds worried, despite all that.

— It's yer younger self speaking - Merlin said, on his way to their bathroom.

— My what?

[...]

5pm – _Harry, do you need some help to get groceries? Or anything you need? It must be tough for you there, you know, all alone._

5:01pm – _The local market has some kind of an app now, they deliver my groceries in the front door as soon as I request it. But I do thank your offer, Eggsy. It’s very kind._

Eggsy sighted frustrated, as he crossed the number one plan of his list of ideas.

[...]

— Now we'll take a look at how the new drone is going to work to find the target in the middle of a crowd — Merlin was showing the agents his last gadget simulation.

8:30am – _Roxy_

\- _Merlin is no longer at the library. He's at his office. Did you see it?_

\- _Yeah, I saw it_

8:33am - _Roxy, I think I'm connecting the dots_

\- _You aren't connecting shit_

At this point, Eggsy had a whole board of clues in his iPad.

Notes about Harry's old house (if it was indeed where he lived in) and his conversations with a drunk Merlin. Memories from Merlin's recovery after the mission in Cambodia, including the way Harry stayed beside his bed the whole time, the worried look on his face. A chronological timeline of how long they had met each other, a collection of "evidences" he gathered from the online meetings.

Diagrams, post-its and even pictures of the two men he had found in the HQ Archives.

He took a look at his desk, then at himself. He seemed like a lunatic. His hair was a mess, his face unshaven.

Lockdown wasn't being easy for someone like him, who used to go out every day. Not unravelling the mystery was making him more nervous than before. It had been a brilliant idea for a hobby, but a very stressful one.

Two hours after Merlin's last class and a six-pack of beer on that Thursday evening, he did the most reasonable thing he thought of since the beginning of the quarantine: he shaved his head.

Friday arrived and Eggsy couldn't bare the thought of not knowing anymore. As he put food for JB in the hallway, he decided it was time to facetime Harry.

— Eggsy!

— Hello, Harry.

— Are you alright? I see you got a new hairstyle. Inspired by Merlin, apparently.

— I shaved my head yesterday, yeah. Bit of a rough patch during all this, Harry.

— Why is that?

— I've been alone in here and I feel like I'm loosing my mind. Roxy told me to calm down and I tried to but then, I saw the library in your house through the webcam and it looked a lot like Merlin's library from his online class so I wondered why you two would be quarantining in the same place, which led me to an entire investigation about your relationship during the years, photos in the archives. I made bloody diagrams, Harry. I just...I feel awful about the world right now. Trying to discover if the two guys I most admire were married would make me feel better, I guess. But I didn't discover shit. So I shaved my head, instead.

Harry couldn't help but laugh during his entire monologue.

— Eggsy, are you aware that Kingsmen can't...?

— Yes and I'm also aware that you two wouldn't mind a bit of going against that rule if you wanted to.

— Quite right. But still, we would need to hide it, of course. We could never mention to anyone else at work, not even to our friends. We'd have to act discreetly all the time. Be professionals. Isn't that what we both taught you?

— Yes, you did. But this isn't a normal scenario, is it? I mean, for us is never calm, but this pandemic is scary. We can't do anything about it, unless stay home. I know we have to be professional, but I care about you two. It's pure curiosity but I need to know. We’re not working now, are we? Just good friends chatting during a pandemic. Harry, I promise I'll keep a secret, please, just say yes or no.

— Well, you're right. Since we're facing a time of chaos and uncertainty, I think trivial rules of professionalism should be taken aside for a minute. They were never relevant, anyway. Let me calm your afflictions — Harry stood up, his phone on his hand, as the camera now showed him walking down the stairs, with slippers on.

— Hamish, Eggsy wanted to meet my husband — Harry said as he entered their kitchen, showing the wizard with a wooden spoon in his hand.

— I knew it!!! — Eggsy's image on the video call was all blurred, as he moved nonstop, relieved and blissful.

— He noticed the library, didn't he? — Merlin sighted, at the same time frustrated and proud of the agent he trained.

— He did, but that's alright. He knows it's a secret that has only been shared due to the extraordinary circumstances we're facing in the moment.

— If I find a printscreen of me in yer phone, Eggsy... — He stared seriously at the camera, as he chopped zucchini.

— You won't, Merlin. I promise you won't. I'm so happy for being right! And happy for you, too.

Harry placed his phone on the marble counter, as he told Eggsy a bit of what they had gone through their 10 years together. The difficulties of hiding it all, the funny stories every couple had, except theirs involved more bombs, kilts and knifes, of course.

Merlin had opened a bottle of their favourite white wine in the mean time and they were enjoying to walk down memory lane, while dinner was being prepared.

— That's quite a story, Harry! I can't believe you two hid it for so long — Eggsy smiled at the camera.

— I'm sorry we couldn't share with you earlier, Eggsy. We've learned to take all the precautions we could.

— We didn't have much of a choice. Keeping as a secret protects us — The wizard placed his arm around his husband's shoulder.

— I understand, Merlin. You two can trust me.

— We know, Eggsy — he reassured him, sipping his wine.

— It's marvelous to finally share our story with a friend. A silver lining in the middle of all this, isn't it? — Harry turned to smile at his husband, who smiled back at him.

— It sure is, Harry — Eggsy waved them goodbye, a smile on his face.

He laid down in bed peacefully that night, like a child that had just listened to a fairy tale, except in this one the two princes fell in love and hid it to keep them safe from the world.

He felt sorry for not being able to loudly point "I told you so" to Roxy, but his loyalty to Harry and Merlin would never let him share their most special secret.

Roxy's loyalty to Harry and Merlin wouldn't let her share their secret either. Eggsy didn't know, no one actually knew, that she had caught the married agents kissing in Merlin's office in the last year's Christmas party and not once spoke about it, as the honourable Kingsman she was.

He closed his eyes, feeling his heart warm for knowing neither Harry or Merlin were alone in this quarantine.

Eggsy forgot to ask, of course, who was big spoon and little spoon in their cuddling, but that inquire could wait until the next morning.

Knowing his mentors were happily married to each other made the world seem just a little bit better.

A little bit sweeter, even amidst the bitter chaos of a pandemic.

**Author's Note:**

> For me, reading Merlahad fanfics is making the world seem a little bit sweeter during all that's going on right now and I do hope you could feel that too after reading this one.
> 
> Thank you for reading. Take care and wash your hands :)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [The Pitfalls of Video Chat](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24809668) by [Lovethistoomuch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lovethistoomuch/pseuds/Lovethistoomuch)




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